Date: Tuesday, Nov. 27 2001
For Immediate Release

Editor's Note: A 4x6", 300 dpi color JPG image of the Oregon Marina Guide is available by clicking here.

Marina Guide Helps Moor Boaters

It's not too early to begin thinking about the next boating season. The newly updated Oregon Marina Guide, available free from the Oregon State Marine Board, will help operators of larger boats find suitable marinas and moorage facilities across the state.

"If you're someone who moors your boat or if you've considered spending time in other parts of the state and need to know what marinas are there, I think you'll find this publication extremely helpful," said Marty Law, Education Information Program Manager for the Oregon State Marine Board. "We completely revamped the previous Marina Guide, updating the listings, building new and better maps and including other helpful information."

Not only does the guide list public and private marinas across the state, but it also lists the amenities you'll find there. "For example, someone considering mooring their boat at an Astoria marina for the first time might want a place that has showers and a dump station. This will tell you," said Law. "We also list contact phone numbers. We always encourage people to call first - especially for something critical like marine fuel availability - to ensure that the service is functioning or available when the boater needs it."

The guide also provides helpful instructions regarding boat waste collection facilities, on-water fueling and clean boating practices.

Copies of the guide are available at boat registration agents across the state, by visiting the Salem office of the Marine Board (435 Commercial St NE), or via mail by sending a request to: OSMB, Marina Guide, PO Box 14145, Salem, OR 97309.

###

Boating Accidents at 14 for 2001

Fatal boating accidents involving manually powered boats such as canoes and kayaks doubled in 2001, while powerboat related fatalities dropped by half. The Oregon State Marine Board says that fourteen people lost their lives so far in boating accidents in 2001.

"All told, the overall number of fatalities is about average," said Marty Law, Education Information Program Manager for the Oregon State Marine Board. "But there's some very strong lessons in those numbers that boaters should learn. Virtually every one of these fatalities could have been avoided if the victim had been wearing a life jacket."

Of the 14 fatalities, eight involved manually powered craft. On an average year, 30 percent of the fatalities involve manually powered craft, with this year jumping to nearly 60 percent. "It's difficult to characterize these nine fatalities," said Law. "They generally involved casual use of the kayaks, canoes and rafts. Victims were generally inexperienced, several may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but the key similarity is that all but one were not wearing a life jacket."

Of the five motorboat related fatalities, none were wearing life jackets and all were fishing at the time of the accident. "This was a big year for fishing," said Law. "That's both good and bad from a safety perspective. On the bad side is that we saw many accidents involving boaters attempting to fish waters that they weren't familiar with or prepared for. On the good side is that other boaters were often nearby to rescue the victim and prevent a fatality."

The number of fatalities in 2000 was 14; in 1999, there were 18 and in 1998 there were 20.

"There are several positive statistics this year," said Law. "The youth life jacket law continues to save lives. We had no boating fatalities involving youths this year. We estimate 90-plus percent of youths 12 and younger wear their life jackets as required by law. If we can just convince mom and dad to wear them, we could reduce boating fatalities even more."

Another improvement is the growing awareness of the danger of drinking and boating. "Boat operators under the influence of alcohol or drugs risk not only their own lives, but the lives of the people in their boat and those around them. We're cracking down hard on the 'Boating Under the Influence' violation and we believe we're seeing fewer intoxicated boaters. Certainly we've seen a decrease in accidents from BUII in recent years. People are getting the 'boat safe, boat sober' message."

###